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The price of soybean oil decreased to $1,390-$1,425 per metric ton and the price of palm oil stood at $850-$900 per metric ton in the global market during the last week of September, according to Statista.
The price of soybean oil and palm oil per ton jumped to a record $1969.62 and $1690 respectively on May 24 this year.
The price of soybean oil and palm oil dropped 17.56% and 23.08% year-on-year in the international market.
Although prices of some consumer goods have come down in the international market, poor monitoring by the stakeholders’ and the depreciation of the Taka against the US dollar, dollar crisis and slowdown in the opening of letter of credit is why Bangladesh is yet to see the prices of these commodities come down, said experts.
The Bangladeshi taka lost 25-30% of its value against the US dollar in the last 4/5 months, resulting in an increased price of soybean and palm oil in the local market.
Each 5-litre bottle of soybean oil is selling at Tk930-940 in the kitchen market. Meanwhile, freight cost hikes also pushed the price of consumer goods in the market.
However, according to an official of the Consumer Association of Bangladesh (CAB), strong monitoring by government stakeholders can help reduce the price of consumer goods in the market.
The price of rice is hovering between $450-455 per ton in the international market.
However, the price of sugar remained stable in the global market. The price of refined sugar stood at $520.2 and that of crude sugar at $395.73 in the international market on September 23. Brazil is the main source of crude sugar for Bangladesh.
Meanwhile, the price of each ton of wheat jumped to $549.85 on June 17 in the international market, which later dropped to $395.73 on September 23.
The government recently reduced the retail price of loose super palm oil by about Tk12 per litre, and packaged and loose sugar by Tk6 per kilogram.
In a statement, the Commerce Ministry said that the retail price of loose super palm oil will now be Tk133 per litre, which is 10% less than the essential cooking ingredient’s previous market value of Tk145 to Tk150 per litre in Dhaka.
The new price level of these commodities was fixed after an assessment by the Bangladesh Trade and Tariff Commission (BTTC), according to Senior Commerce Secretary Tapan Kanti Ghosh.
“We are also assessing the import price, stock and international prices of some other goods and may announce new retail prices for them soon,” he said.
However, BTTC can assess the prices of just 17 commodities, which are mainly imported, while the agriculture ministry assesses the prices of some basic commodities like rice.
On August 30, the Commerce Ministry said that it would fix the prices of nine commodities including rice, lentil, flour, and onion, as well as mild steel products and cement within 15 days.
But during a seminar at the Jatiya Press Club on September 18, Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi said that the ministry cannot fix the price of some basic commodities like rice as per a rule of 2018 stating that the Agriculture Ministry is assigned to fix the prices of these products.
Likewise, the mill gate rate of packaged sugar will be Tk82 per kg and at the distributor’s end, prices of the sweetener have been set at Tk84 per kg, the statement said.
Meanwhile, the US dollar is hovering around Tk110-115 as against Tk88 three months back in the kerb market. The weak local currency against the US dollar makes imported goods costly.
Talking to the press, Senior Secretary of the Ministry of Commerce Tapan Kanti Ghosh said that the decision to reduce the price of cooking oil in the local market has been taken in line with the reduction of price in the international market.
Bangladesh imports palm oil mainly from Indonesia.
Meanwhile, soybean production in Argentina, the world’s third-largest supplier, is expected to push well above 50 million tons in 2021-22, according to Benjamin Boroughs, the United States Department of Agriculture attache in Argentina’s capital Buenos Aires.
Boroughs estimated that the production would rise to 51.5 million tons in the coming marketing year, which would be an 8.4% increase over the USDA’s official forecast for production in 2020-21, which might ease prices globally.
(DT)
